246 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



cereals. The present price is $2.15 a bushel, and is never less than $1.50. 

 An acre of poor land will produce thirt}^ bushels. 



Mr. Pardee. — I think white beans could be cultivated at a profit. I have 

 never known white beans in Western New York sell for less than $1 per 

 bushel. 



Mr. S. Robinson. — There are one or two trifling little obstacles in the way 

 «jf the Illinois farmers going largely into the cultivation of white beans. In 

 the first place the soil is so rich that the same kind of beans that grow 

 here upon thin land in short stubbed bushes', would there grow in long suc- 

 culent vines, very difficult to cure, and in wet seasons almost impossible. 

 There is but one way in which a crop of beans can be cured in a wet sea- 

 son, when pulled in a green state. This is to set stakes like ordinary gar- 

 den bean poles, and stack the vines with roots to the stake, just one tier 

 thick, and about five feet high. There should be brush, stones, sods or 

 something at the bottom to keep the pods out of the water, and in this 

 situation the greenest vines will cure. There is no farm crop more liable 

 to injury than white beans, and none that varies more in price. Although 

 it is now high, it has been as low as one dollar a bushel within three years, 

 and if a tenth of the corn ground in Illinois was used for beans, and the 

 crop sent to New York, it would glut the market. I do not think that it 

 will do for this Club to recommend beans as a general crop, or substitute 

 for corn and wheat in Illinois. There are always many diflSculties in the 

 way of a farmer changing from one routine of crops to another. He may 

 be compared to a loaded cart in deep ruts, which is too heavy to go back, 

 which cannot turn out, and therefore must be dragged forward. 



Mr. R. G. Pardee. — I think the most sensible change would be to flax. 

 That only needs a combined effort by a few farmers, as it is requisite to 

 have a flax mill in the vicinity, to make it profitable. A few years ago 

 flax was extensively grown in Western New York for the seed, the busi- 

 ness being encouraged by owners of oil mills. When grown for seed, 

 the crop is mown or cradled. Tangled flax, such as used to be thrown 

 away, would now be valuable, if for nothing else, certainly for paper. I 

 should think that flax was one of the most promising crops for Illinois. 

 The seed is always salable, and so is the oil and oil cake. There is nothing 

 better for stock than a little oil cake meal, dail}^ added to their food. Some 

 of the oil mills of this State, twenty years ago, I know, exercised a good 

 influence fifteen miles around. 



Prof. Mapes. — It is a curious fact that we import flax seed from Odessa 

 in large quantities, and export nearly all the oil cake to England, where it 

 sells at a higher price than the cake made there. There are several pro- 

 cesses for preparing flax without rotting, which is' a tedious operation. At 

 present prices of stock there is no doubt that flax would be a good crop 

 for paper; but the great difficulty is in the want of unity of action neces- 

 sary to make flax growing profitable in Illinois. Mills for using the seed 

 and preparing the lint for market are wanted near to where the crop is 

 grown. It will not bear transportation in its rough state to the seaboard. 

 Years back, after the seed was gathered, the straw was burnt off. Last 

 year we had a new machine exhibited, made by Sanford & Mallory, of this 

 city, which made a great saving in the produce. A Mr. Billings, some 



